Released May 5, 2023

Gruta is a narrative-driven platformer puzzle game where you play as a child who runs away from her family to fight the monster she thinks is causing her family trouble. The story is told through still cut scenes without any text, and the story unfolds non-verbally in each scene.

Your character needs to use her sword and shield to get past traps and monsters to reach the treasure chest at the end of each level and unlock the next segment of the story, viewed through a cut scene.

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VISUALS

From its simple (but effective) black and white aesthetic, to its 2D on 3D graphics (which need to be seen in action to be fully appreciated), to its emotionally charged single frame story scenes, Gruta’s graphics are one of its stand out features.

Truly, its 2D on 3D effect needs to be seen to be understood, but it takes a game that otherwise might not have been very visually interesting, and creates a compelling canvas for your character to quest on.

AUDIO

The music and sound effects in Gruta are nowhere as stunning as its graphics, but they both fit the game well and compliment the overall action and narrative. The music, in particular, is hauntingly beautiful, in its own right, but also rather faint; truly the definition of background music.

GAMEPLAY

Gruta has generally tight controls and well crafted stages, such that most deaths will definitely be your fault. The action largely consists of navigating enemies and traps in each stage to reach a treasure chest and unlock the next frame of the story.

If you want to see some gameplay you can watch my playthrough video from Gruta on Nintendo Switch:

FUN

So what about the fun? Well I don’t know if I’d call Gruta “fun” in the traditional sense (the story seems kind of dark) but it’s certainly a compelling experience that I couldn’t stop playing until I rolled credits (which took a little less than an hour).

Gruta isn’t “hard” per se, but you will find sections where you die a few times before you get the timing right, especially at the final boss. Since the completion of each level moves the story forward one more frame, I constantly found myself pressing onward to unlock the next part of the story.